


Happiness

by rosieblue



Category: Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World
Genre: I do realize this is corny as hell, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 08:33:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosieblue/pseuds/rosieblue
Summary: Jack loses Eric while shopping for Shawn and Angela's wedding gift.





	Happiness

 

Jack really didn't know what to get Shawn and Angela for their wedding gift. 

  
  
He sighed as he looked through the shelves of a mildly expensive store.  
  
It wasn't of any use anyway.

Shawn wasn't going to like anything he himself couldn't buy and Angela was really into artistic stuff.

And Jack was _not_ going to buy his brother and his now-official sister-in-law a blender!

Jack looked around the store.  
  
 Eric was nowhere to be seen and the last thing he'd told Jack was something involving the storage room, root beer, and a couple of roses. Or maybe that was rosé, he wasn't quite sure.

  
Silently putting 911 on standby, Jack continued his stroll.

* * *

 

  
Somehow all Jack kept remembering the night Eric came running into the apartment in a rented tux yelling about Vermont and civil unions.  
  
Jack understood the gist of it, but Eric was in such disarray and hysteria that Jack didn't know what to say.

After the help of three beers and a slice of two days-old pizza, Eric finally calmed down.  
  
"So, I'm really sorry I ruined this", Eric said, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. "It was meant to be very romantic and, and perfect and stuff."  
  
Jack shook his head. "Eric, babe, that wasn't even _one_ of your top ten weirdest moments."  
  
Eric tilted his head but seemed to agree.

"Whatever. From now on, consider Josh my only brother!"  
  
Everything suddenly made sense. It was about _Cory_. As per fucking usual.  
  
"What did he do now?", Jack asked, exasperatedly.  
  
Jack had nothing against Cory really, but sometimes he tended to be a little too well-intentioned to the point of righteousness.  
  
And if it was what Jack thought it was, Cory's righteousness must have beaten its highest point.  
  
"He pushed me to do all this stupid shit", Eric said, gesturing to the ridiculous tuxedo he was wearing. "Said it would be very romantic and all propsal-y but what does he know anyway? Topanga proposed _to him_!"  
  
Eric continued ranting about his brother, mildly dipping into vague childhood stories, and completely missed Jack's breath hitching.  
  
Biting back the ridiculous smile that was threatening to take over his face, Jack cleared his throat.  
  
"Proposal-y?"  
  
Eric sighed. "It's totally a word, hon. Anyways, when Cory was seven he ~~\--~~ "  
  
He stopped abruptly, realizing what Jack must have meant.  
  
"Crap", he began, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Now I don't even have the element of surprise."  
  
Jack couldn't hold back his laughter now.  
  
It bubbled out of him, first in small giggles then in waves, much like the broken faucet they had last month.

Laughter has never felt so sweet, so cathartic.  
  
Eric frowned a little. "Jack?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry", Jack apologized, trying to control himself and failing hilariously. "It's just...I'm so _relieved_!"  
  
"You're relieved because I think this is Cory's payback for when I locked him in the dryer?", Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"No", Jack said, laughter finally quieting. "I'm relieved about the proposal."  
  
"You're happy I ruined the proposal?!"  
  
Grinning again, Jack shook his head. "No, I'm happy that...you actually did it."  
  
Eric seemed confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Jack didn't know how to put this.

How does anyone tell the person that they're undeniably in love with that they're happy?

 

It was something of a mystery for Jack, happiness. It seemed uncanny and what was uncannier was announcing it.

He vividly remembered his mother and his step-father on on the days that happiness seemed to burst out of them like sun rays.  
  
His mother, who had once been so sad that Jack didn't think she even knew how to smile, had a habit of over-expressing her happiness.  
  
On occasions like her and Jack's step-father's anniversary and Valentine's Day, she would wake up and immediately play a song on that antique gramophone of theirs and drag her husband into a dance.

They would twirl and sway in the early morning hours, completely oblivious to the stares from Jack and the maid, staring into each other's eyes.  
  
Sometimes, when Jack's mother would think he wasn't around, she would whisper to her husband a single phrase.  
  
"I never knew someone could be so happy."  
  
Her voice didnt have any romantic undertones. It was straight and matter-of-fact, like she had been talking about the weather or the last PTA meeting.  
  
  
  
Jack picked up his mother's habits more than he'd liked.

  
He brushed his teeth like she did, twice after every meal. He never really took to church, like she did. He always liked seeing people happy, even if he thought it was out of reach for him, like she did.

  
In hindsight, his mother's ongoing observations about joy and happiness might have been why he realized he was actually head over heels for Eric.  
  
It only took him a month ~~\--~~ after the unfortunate witch incident ~~\--~~ to realize that around him, he was more carefree, more outgoing, more at ease than he had ever been.  
  
When Jack discovered that he had been taking two classes he didn't even like just to be around Eric more, he decided to talk to Shawn.  
  
His brother only had one thing to say. "What do you mean you want to be around him more? You're roommates!"  
  
Jack was about to retort, but Shawn added something else.  
  
"But I suppose if it makes you happy..."  
  
Jack didn't know if Shawn had trailed off or finished that sentence. His mind zeroed in on word and never let it go since then.  
  
_Happy_.  
  
Jack nodded to himself later that night in his room. Happy, he really was happy.

  
Soon enough, things started happening between him and Eric.  
  
It started with simple hand touches and later escalated to kisses and the like, which Jack was very pleased with until the whole fiasco with Rachel happened.  
  
After the Rachel Thing and the peace corps, things started settling back between Jack and Eric.  
  
When he found him in the laundry room the night he and Rachel returned to New York, Jack didn't even get to say anything to Eric before the latter started.  
  
"Do you wanna move in with me?"  
  
Jack didn't know what to say. "What?"  
  
"I'm going to be all alone", Eric began with a wounded puppy face. "You know Shawn and Angela are going to find a place soon and then I'll be all alone...and I'll probably get kicked out for not making rent."  
  
"We can't have that", Jack said, playfully. "Of course, I'll move in so you don't get kicked out."  
  
Eric had smiled then and started his laundry round before walking to Jack.  
  
He kissed him and Jack was speechless for a second or two.  
  
"I missed you too", Jack said, finally.  
  
  
  
Dragging himself out of his memories, Jack finally answered Eric, who was starting to take his dress shoes off.  
  
"I'm just relieved you're", Jack said, pausing a little; there was a lot he wanted to say. "You're not bored with me."  
  
"I can never be bored with you", Eric said, a little googly-eyed. "It's like one roller-coaster after another!"  
  
Jack rolled his eyes before he kissed him. "Stop making fun of me."  
  
"Fine", Eric grumbled. "Is that yes?"

 

* * *

 

  
  
Back in the present day, Jack continued browsing at the store.  
  
Settling on a vase, Jack grumbled to himself that people who elope shouldn't get wedding gifts anyway.  
  
_Great_ , Jack thought. Now he sounds like Cory.

Jack paid for the vase ~~\--~~ intricately designed enough for Angela yet a little old-looking to suit Shawn ~~\--~~ and started looking for Eric. 

  
"Eric", Jack whisper-yelled through a couple of aisles. "Matthews!"  
  
There was no sign of Eric anywhere.  
  
Groaning, Jack texted his assistant he was going to be late for the potentially biggest client they have this month.

This was _definitely_ going out of his paycheck.  
  
"Eric", Jack said, finally giving up on whispering. "Where the fuck are you?"  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, a security guard found Jack standing tiredly by the vase aisle.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, but are you Jack Hunter?"  
  
"I am", Jack began. "But it's a pretty common name so you maybe looking for someone else."

The security guard shook his head. "Nope, it's definitely you."  
  
"How do you know?", Jack asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"Brown hair, brown eyes, looks about ready to murder someone by now because he's late for work", the security guard read off a small note. "Definitely you."  
  
Jack sighed, Eric was unbelievable sometimes. "Where is he?"  
  
"In the storage room."  
  
  
  
Jack headed to the store's storage room, completely ignoring the manager's warning.  
  
"Seriously, dude?", Jack asked when he finally saw Eric. "I've been looking for you for an hour, _an hour_!"  
  
Eric was pouring root beer into fancy wine glasses. "You lose your patience after one hour and yet you say you want children. Odd."  
  
"You're a grown man!"  
  
"Not the point."  
  
Jack scoffed. "Then what's the point?"  
  
"Happy anniversary", Eric said, handing Jack root beer in a fancy wine glass.  
  
Jack was stumped.  
  
He quickly checked the date on his PDA and looked at Eric. "That's not until next month."  
  
"Not that anniversary", Eric said, smiling.  
  
"What? The first time we kissed then?"  
  
" _That_ was last Tuesday."  
  
"Just tell me", Jack pleaded, really not in the mood.  
  
"Fine, you big baby", Eric said, rolling his eyes. "I proposed to you? Ring any bells?"  
  
Jack was horrified. "I can't believe I forgot that!"  
  
"Hey, hey, it's no biggie", Eric said, calming his husband down. "I forget a lot of anniversaries too."  
  
Jack, now sitting on the picnic mat set on the floor, gave Eric a dirty look.

"You remember the anniversary of us wearing the same shoes!"  
  
"Look", Eric said, sitting down next to Jack. "It's really not a big deal ~~\--~~ I wasn't even going to celebrate it today."  
  
"But..?", Jack prompted, suspiciously.  
  
"But", Eric repeated, drawing out the word. "I have a surprise so today's going to be special. And I promise you won't forget it."  
  
Jack scanned his husband. "What's going on?"  
  
"A woman agreed to meet us", Eric answered as cryptically as possible.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, what did you say you felt about Peanuts as a baby name?", Eric asked.  
  
Speechless, Jack got up and paced a little.  
  
Finally finding the words, Jack sat back down.  
  
"A baby?"  
  
"Yes, you ~~\--~~ "  
  
"You said that you talked to the adoption agency and they ~~\--~~ ", Jack stopped.

Oh that _little_ asshole.  
  
He was seething. "Was that supposed to be some sort of prank?!"  
  
"No", Eric said, innocently. "I was trying to make it a surprise and I guess it worked."  
  
"Worked a little too much", Jack said, anger dissipating.  
  
 He never could stay upset with Eric for long, a curse only he was granted.   
  
Jack looked around him, at the impromptu picnic and the root beer in the fancy glasses.  
  
It wasn't a lot, but somehow it was perfect.  
  
Jack kissed Eric once, twice, three times.  
  
"I love you", he finally said after a while.  
  
Eric laughed. "Angela was right, you and your brother always do three kisses."  
  
Jack was about to make a sharp quip, but he didn't have the heart to make it.  
  
Instead, he just laughed as he looked at Eric and his loud laughter.  
  
The words came before he could stop them.  
  
"I never knew someone could be so happy."


End file.
